Socket Organization

[Monte]

plastic trays work for me

 

[GBNZ]

Ernst

 

[Elroy]

After seeing the custom built trays above, Elroy started to Jones for some real socket trays. Took some measurements and sketched up a tray. Ran it out of 20 Ga. stainless on a Vipros 357 CNC during a production run at work.

These didn't come off the truck. They came off the Cincinnati Form Master.

Flat bar delivered today.

And it took a little over a year to return to this project. Elroy figured it was about time he finished up one of his trays.


Started off making some test bends to see how they fit

Considering how bad stainless galls with itself, Elroy didn't want any metal to metal contact so he wanted to incorporate these nylon washers

Initially Elroy wanted to set the rivets from the inside of the tray as shown above. This would place the formed end of the rivet at the thicker material. One little problem, the rivet gun was too big to fit inside the tray so Elroy set them from the outside

And the best thing is, the sockets don't fall out

Feel free to duplicate.

 

[outcast]

interesting thread. i just found it, so i didn't read everything.

i didn't see that anyone is using magnetic sheets to set the sockets on. but maybe this doesn't work ? tip overs ? i don't remove a whole set of sockets, so transportation is not an issue.

 

[littletoes]

Elroy-Those are the Mack-Daddy!

But there are so many different sets out there! What is the "spread" of those, and did Elroy only make them for Elroy??? Either/Any way, they are nice, and would be a FINE addition to any too set!

 

[Rossco]

Ah well .. This how my sockets are stored ..

If you need anymore sockets than that? They you aint trying hard enough ..

Hex & Torx socket drivers are in another draw along with the 3/4 driver.

 

[Elroy]

Elroy-Those are the Mack-Daddy!

Elroy likes them just fine.

What is the "spread" of those, and did Elroy only make them for Elroy??? Either/Any way, they are nice, and would be a FINE addition to any too set!

Elroy built these for some of his 1/2" and 3/8" sets. Simply took measurements and built accordingly. We have enough projects on the books so if you want some stainless trays for yourself, have at it.

 

[littletoes]

Elroy likes them just fine.



Elroy built these for some of his 1/2" and 3/8" sets. Simply took measurements and built accordingly. We have enough projects on the books so if you want some stainless trays for yourself, have at it.

haha! May just have to do that Elroy...have a brake at work....been known how to work a tape me-self!

Thanks for the pic's and idee-er!

Rossco-Great looking, and easy to find, but takes wayyy too much room to be of use in my box. I need ideas that will save space!

 

[bobkentnova]

Attached are photos of my new socket trays (home made) and tool box. I decided that trays were the more space efficient way to go, compared with other commercially available solutions. Mine are not as sleek as the other trays shown in this thread, but I didn't have access to the necessary machine tools for that level of polish. My metal working tools for the project were limited to aviation snips, a vise, a piece of angle iron, and a pop-riveter. The design concept came from another web forum. In short, these trays hold all of my sockets and fit inside the limited space available in my new tool box.

 

[ultimateplayer]

How do you guys organize your flex sockets? The standard plastic trays have those extra long pegs which dont work with a flex socket.

 

[jafco]

Was looking for a good and cheap way to organize my sockets. I just bought a new house and had one of the oak stair treads replaced because it had a gouge in it. Took the old tread and cut it into strips painted black then screwed HF socket holders to them. Added some old handles from kitchen cabinets so they are easy to pick up.

 

[Badger 13]

I have been very happy with the Westling billet aluminum socket holders.

Billet Aluminum Socket Organizing Trays - Westling Machine
westlingmachine.com/ToolHolders.html‎

 

[lilscorpion]

Elroy likes them just fine.



Elroy built these for some of his 1/2" and 3/8" sets. Simply took measurements and built accordingly. We have enough projects on the books so if you want some stainless trays for yourself, have at it.

Matt has seen your thread and likes!

**Matt also gets a kick out of Elroy referring to himself in the third person and makes Matt wonder if he's got it all wrong and in all actuality Elroy has a narrator which would be really cool.

 

[fireguy229]

here's mine

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I use the term "organized" loosely:

 

[Rico.]

Matt has seen your thread and likes!

**Matt also gets a kick out of Elroy referring to himself in the third person and makes Matt wonder if he's got it all wrong and in all actuality Elroy has a narrator which would be really cool.

I don't think Matt realises that this thread is over 4 years old
and that Elroy was banned a long time ago.

 

[lilscorpion]

I don't think Matt realises that this thread is over 4 years old
and that Elroy was banned a long time ago.

No, I had no idea. No referring to ones self in the third person. Got it.

 

[Strouty]

Silly Matt, third person is so 2011. Now the style is fourth person.

 

[1cargarage]

This is one of my favorite threads on GJ. I love the homemade metal trays that some of you have custom made #Jealous.

I personally prefer the Hansen trays for my 6 point sockets; no difficulty identifying or removing exactly the socket I need. As some of you have mentioned though, they have their shortcomings. I have snapped a few of the plastic posts in the past and had to repair with JB-Weld (no big deal).

For my personal setup, I didn't want to keep the 1/4" drive tray in front of the 3/8" tray because of how delicate the 1/4" drive posts are. I.e. I wanted to prevent snapping them when tossing / grabbing tools in / out of the top compartment of my rolling cart.

I made a little "stadium-seating" style block for the 1/4" drive tray that allows easy visibility and access to all the sockets (1/4" drive + 3/8" drive). The block sits on the back ledge of my cart and is kept from sliding around with a couple metal tabs that fit in the little gap in the lower back corner. The tray is screwed to the block with 2 small pan-head fasteners.

Enjoy and feel free to copy (God knows I have copied plenty of ideas from this forum).

A little scrap wood and gray paint:



"Delicate" 1/4" drive tray up and away from potential harm:



All sockets are easily identified and accessed:



No problems so far:



I've been kicking around ideas about how to similarly organize all the 'specialty' sockets I have that a post can't go through. E.g. Ball end allen, male torx, triple-square, pipe plug (square), etc.

Keep this thread going! I love seeing all the different effective ways of organizing sockets.

 

[Fcvapor05]

This is one of my favorite threads on GJ. I love the homemade metal trays that some of you have custom made #Jealous.

I personally prefer the Hansen trays for my 6 point sockets; no difficulty identifying or removing exactly the socket I need. As some of you have mentioned though, they have their shortcomings. I have snapped a few of the plastic posts in the past and had to repair with JB-Weld (no big deal).

For my personal setup, I didn't want to keep the 1/4" drive tray in front of the 3/8" tray because of how delicate the 1/4" drive posts are. I.e. I wanted to prevent snapping them when tossing / grabbing tools in / out of the top compartment of my rolling cart.

I made a little "stadium-seating" style block for the 1/4" drive tray that allows easy visibility and access to all the sockets (1/4" drive + 3/8" drive). The block sits on the back ledge of my cart and is kept from sliding around with a couple metal tabs that fit in the little gap in the lower back corner. The tray is screwed to the block with 2 small pan-head fasteners.

Enjoy and feel free to copy (God knows I have copied plenty of ideas from this forum).

A little scrap wood and gray paint:

"Delicate" 1/4" drive tray up and away from potential harm:

All sockets are easily identified and accessed:

No problems so far:

I've been kicking around ideas about how to similarly organize all the 'specialty' sockets I have that a post can't go through. E.g. Ball end allen, male torx, triple-square, pipe plug (square), etc.

Keep this thread going! I love seeing all the different effective ways of organizing sockets.

This is an AWESOME idea. I'm copying this for sure.

 

[1cargarage]

This is an AWESOME idea. I'm copying this for sure.

Right on! I'm glad you like it. I'm just happy to contribute to a forum that I take so much away from.

 

[ecotec]

I did this-

View media item 40246

 

[1cargarage]

I did this-

That's slick. Pretty serendipitous that the blow-molded case pieces fit so well in your drawer.

 

[ecotec]

That's slick. Pretty serendipitous that the blow-molded case pieces fit so well in your drawer.

They didn't fit. I made them fit. I measured the width of the drawer and divided by two. I cut the extra off with a circular saw and cleaned up with scissors.

If I was to do it over again, I would use a table saw. The cut would be much cleaner. If you look at the edges, you can see that I did not do a perfect job.

 

[1cargarage]

They didn't fit. I made them fit. I measured the width of the drawer and divided by two. I cut the extra off with a circular saw and cleaned up with scissors.

If I was to do it over again, I would use a table saw. The cut would be much cleaner. If you look at the edges, you can see that I did not do a perfect job.

Nobody's perfect

 

[ecotec]

Nobody's perfect

Too true.

I also would not have taken the same amount off of each tray. I would have taken more off the 1/4" tray and less off the 3/8" tray.

c'est la vie.

 

[radrush]

Ernst rails are kewl.

 

[SeanConklin]

I use Hansen trays for short and deep sockets and use HF type cheapo rails for everything else.

 

[woodworksfla]

how do you recoganize what size is what socket? they are all "burried" into the clips.. maybe since the tray can be marked with a sharpie so the sockets can be quickly picked up?

 

[woodworksfla]

Could you post a picture of it? thanks

 

[durallymax]

how do you recoganize what size is what socket? they are all "burried" into the clips.. maybe since the tray can be marked with a sharpie so the sockets can be quickly picked up?

When you work with them everyday you get a feel for where they are at.

Even if you grab the wrong one, say a 15mm, you know that if you need the 17mm it's two sockets over.

Slower than something like a Hansen tray? Yes slightly, but the gain in storage space by ditching those clubby things is immense.

I combined the following three drawers along with a bunch of new tools into my top drawer with room to spare.

Some of the new stuff.

The end result. Organized and with a lot of real estate freed up.

 

[Supe]

Build it and they will come. 'Field of sockets'.

 

[maddawg1952]

For a vintage look, how about metal trays? I don't know if or where you could buy them. It might require some custom fab work but I would bet that there are some talented guys here at GJ who could do it. Just a thought.

Most of my socket sets in my at home Box are in metal trays.

 

[AndrewV]

Havent seen this thread in a while. Figured a bump, to see other orginazational skills.
And came across this.

Grip On Socket holder.
Mite mount one in my cart.

 

[6PTsocket]

Been there done that. I like to take my sockets out of the roll away.I have tried quite a few rails. The spring clips deform or break. The plastic magnetic ones that hold deeps and shallows on either side of a magnet: one bump and the sockets are all over the floor. The HF 3 piece set: defective detent balls that jam and break or don't hold at all and with 1/2" impacts the plastic rail bends. FINALLY I found the MTS (Mechanic's Time Saver) anodized aluminum,magnetic rails with twist lock socket holders. The magnet is strong enough to hold 1/2" deep impacts. The twist locks turn easily but you can't shake a socket off the rail. You can get replacement socket holders. They are a bit pricey. They also make a cheaper version with a non magnetic plastic rail though I have never actually seen one. Sears sells slightly shorter versions under the Craftsman name that hold a couple less sockets. With sales and discounts,I did better buying these. Besides, the 1/2" rail was 22" long and a tight fit in my HF drawers. The Craftsman was a more convenient 20". One minor quibble,they only come in red; no blue for metric.

 

[dylanr_97]

it might be hard to see, but i get a piece of 1/2 plywood and lay ouy my sockets how i want, drill the appropriate hole size (1/2, 3/8, 1/4) then put the same size dowel in each hole, then paint the whole thing to make it look cleaner. its easy to take sockets on and off and nothing ever falls over. Takes a while to build them though.

 

[superautobacs]

it might be hard to see, but i get a piece of 1/2 plywood and lay ouy my sockets how i want, drill the appropriate hole size (1/2, 3/8, 1/4) then put the same size dowel in each hole, then paint the whole thing to make it look cleaner. its easy to take sockets on and off and nothing ever falls over. Takes a while to build them though.

Cool. Tell how it turns out.

I've done away with socket holders for some time now and opted for custom holders using wood. I move my cart all the time, sometimes over uneven surfaces and I've never had a socket fall off (I don't even use pegs).

 

[tank4114]

what are the magnet rails holding the long hexs

 

[doan]

Here's one I made for my stubby Allen and torx sockets. A little easier than a normal socket set because I only needed 3 drill sizes. I did the layout in PowerPoint. Using the align and distribute tools made it easy. Printed to actual size and taped it to a 1 x 4 oak board. Center punched all the holes (Yay!, no measuring) and went to town with the drill press.

Here's another in the socket drawer of my tool cart. SAE/MM standard and deep 3/8 drive. This is my 1st one made out of a 2x8. It was intended just to be an experiment, but it came out pretty good so I kept it. Ideally, I would have made it smaller.

 

[RedF]

Outstanding! I've wanted to make custom wooden socket trays like that for a long time. I also had the idea rolling around in my head for the sliding tray system, just never knew how to do it. That is simple and elegant.